The Millennium Democratic Party's Presidential Election Campaign Manager Cho Soon-hyung and Kim Kyong-je, head of the party's Public Relations Department visited Prime Minister Kim Seok-soo and also demanded a SOFA revision, criticizing the government for supporting the US.

Kim Kyong-je said the "peoples' government" would finish its term as "agents of the US government," and the party would move for no-confidence votes in Prime Minister Kim and the minister of justice.

In related news, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lee Tae-shik met with Deputy US Ambassador Evans Revere and discussed plans to improve implementation of the SOFA, and ways to involve domestic agencies in investigations of alleged crimes committed by USFK personnel.

President Kim Dae-jung told civil servants at a luncheon the deaths of the schoolgirls should not be used to call for a revision of the SOFA, or the removal of the USFK, and if protests continue, a huge national loss would result. President Kim said the US was an ally of Korea necessary for the security of the peninsula, and cooperation with the world super power was in the national interest.

He reminded them of when the Philippines demanded the US to leave Subic Bay and Clarke Airbase, which it then did causing huge economic losses and major security problems for Manilla. Kim said the SOFA with the US was not inferior to those it had signed with Japan and Germany, and whenever the ROK military was stationed overseas, similar agreements were reached with the countries it was stationed in.

Cabinet members requested schools to persuade students not to attend demonstrations and called for the cooperation of religious leaders and entertainers to halt the expansion of anti American demonstrations.

(Kim Min-bai, baibai@chosun.com )